The BC Nurses Union was not surprised about the lawsuit

The head of the BC Nurses’ Union (BCNU) was not surprised at an ER doctor’s lawsuit against Fraser Health, which echoes nurses’ own experiences with routine violence and restrictions on speaking out.

BCNU President Adriane Gear confirmed that nurses also face similar restrictions on speaking publicly about their employer, despite union channels for formal complaints.

The lawsuit highlights incidents like a nurse being threatened with a machete and a doctor bitten by a patient’s pit bull.

Gear emphasized the need for nurses to feel comfortable raising staffing concerns in BC hospitals.

A physician is suing Fraser Health for wrongful dismissal after she warned patients about an overcrowded emergency department at a hospital.

The doctor also claims nurses without emergency qualifications are being pulled into understaffed ERs.

“What that means is that the burden is being left to fewer nurses that are emergency room qualified,” Gear tells 1130 NewsRadio in an interview. “And so those are the nurses that they are continuously in triage.”

While the Ministry of Health and Fraser Health declined to comment on the lawsuit, Health Minister Josie Osborne generally affirmed that healthcare workers should feel empowered to report workplace concerns.